(she spreads her hands)
Immune? He says foolish things and I answer. How does that make me immune to
him? So many seem to think I dislike him -- I don't. He's witty, and kind, and
he's been honorable.

But you haven't kissed
him.

And why would I? Must I
kiss every knight I meet? My saint means for me tobe a physician of --

You kissed the prince.

(she blushes bright
red)

Well, he did it first.
But you kissed him back.

(still red) Yes. I
know it's foolish.

He's cute and smart.

(fading to pink)
And he reads. And he's been so kind...

Maybe not so foolish?

(she looks at her
folded hands) Prince Kiefan is promised to marry, to seal our alliance. We
need our allies' aid, when the war comes.

So perhaps it's better to
focus on your studies. You were graduated to full physician for this mission; I
know you were very anxious about that.

True, I was. And my
master was right, I did learn a great deal more on the mission than in the two
years before. Perhaps it was foolish to think that would earn me any esteem
from the other physicians -- I am still a peasant girl, in their eyes.

Are you still a peasant
girl?

(she thinks about that)
I will always be myself, won't I? Always be a peasant girl, at heart?

One who loves a prince?
(That makes her blush again, but she smiles.)

Back cover blurb for Disciple,
Part I

The saints favor her,
else-wise a peasant girl like Kate Carpenter would never be apprenticed to the
kingdom’s master healer. But her patron saint also marks her ready for the duty
of tending to a mission that must cross the ice-bound mountains. Their little
kingdom faces invasion by a vast empire and desperately needs allies; across
the snow-filled pass, through the deathly thin air, is a country that’s held
off the empire and may be willing to lend an army.

Kate knows about
frostbite and the everyday injuries of wilderness travel. She can heal those.

She’s not ready for the
attentions of a ne’er-do-well knight and the kingdom’s only prince,
though.

And she isn’t ready for
the monsters that harry them night and day, picking off their archers first,
wearing the party to exhaustion, pushing Kate beyond the limits her healing
abilities.

Thank you, L. Character interviews are a particular favourite of mine, and Kate's interview certainly has me intrigued. I'm looking forward to reading her story. Good luck with your Kickstarter appeal.

About Me

Science fiction and horror writer. Passing Time: Nine Short Tales of the Strange and Macabre and Taking Time and Other Science Fiction Stories are available now on Kindle. Join me as I write my way through the strange, macabre, and fantastical.